The Rolling Stones were on a roll back in 1999 with Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ron along with long time saxist Bobby Keys/ts, Tim Ries/sax-key, Darryl Jones/b, Chuck Leavell/key, Michael Davis/tb, Kent Smith/tp and a trio of backing vocalists. This…
Month: July 2018
Ronnie Cuber: Live at Montmartre
Hard bopping baritone saxist Ronnie Cuber is in vintage form at Copenhagen’s Monmartre Jazzhus for a November 2017 gig with musical compatriots Kjeld Lauritson/B3, Krister Jonsson/g and Andreas Svendsen/dr. Cuber’s sax is rough and ready, bopping with delight as Svendson…
JD Allen: LoveStone
This might be the breakthrough album in which we finally appreciate tenor saxist JD Allen’s tone. He mixes an old school fog reminiscent of Ben Webster with a modern harmonic sense, and with this set of ballads and slow tempo’d…
Orcastatum: Orcastratum
The quartet of Glenn Scott/p, Neville Malcolm/b, Ralph Salmins/dr and Eric Appapoulay/g deliver a handful of creative and flexible originals. Blues guitarist Eric Bibb brings in some folksy pickings that build up to a dramatic cataclysm on “No Need” while…
Brian Bromberg: Thicker Than Water
When it comes to bassists, Brian Bromberg sometimes gets unfairly pegged into the “smooth jazz” category. His catalogue, however, betrays that limitation, as his recent albums have been all over the musical map. He did a power duo with Vinnie…
Kristo Rodzevski: The Rabbit and the Fallen Sycamore
Teamed with the jazz team of Mary Halvorson/g, Kris Davis/p, Ingrid Laubrock/ts, Brian Drye/tb, Michael Blanco/b and Tomas Fujiwara/dr, vocalist-composer Kristo Rodzevski takes you on an artsy tour of quirky moods and tones, mixing shadowy rock with abstract colors. The…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ted Nash Quintet: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola
Ted Nash shows what coming from a musical family can do for a guy. Son of famed session trombonist Dick Nash and nephew to likewise Ted, this younger Nash has carved out a successful career in many a big band…
BASS DESIRES…Stu Hamm: The Diary of Patrick Zavier, James Rosacha: Avalon
The bass is in the lead on these two sessions. Stu Hamm goes solo on this lyrical and melodic collection of originals. He’s able to create his own pulse to work over on pieces such as a grooving “My Boss…
ARGENTINA SWINGS! Pedro Giraudo: Vigor Tanguero, Pedro Giraudo & The WDR Big Band: An Argentinian in New York
Conductor, composer and arranger Pedro has released a p air of intriguing albums that combine Argentina and jazz. Take a gander! Most intriguing about the sounds in Bigor Tanguero is the inclusion of the quartet of Nick Danielson/vi, Rodolfo Zanetti/band,…
Ben Markley Quartet featuring Greg Osby: Basic Economy
Pianist Ben Artley forms a hip post bop band with Evn Gregor/b, Dru Heller/dr and featured guest Greg Osby/as on 6 self penned pieces and one thrown in by the alto saxist. Of the latter, “Ice-Line” is a dark modal…